


Around the Office

by meeble



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Just all around cuteness, Mari has a huge crush, Marichat is very cute in this one, Office Assistant Adrien AU, Older Characters, Pining Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, fashion designer marinette, reverse love square
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29456640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meeble/pseuds/meeble
Summary: Marinette is a high-end successful fashion designer, struggling to balance her career with being Ladybug and her crush on her feline partner. Adrien is lovestruck by the cute designer working with his father and becomes her personal assistant, while navigating around his superhero partner's crush on him. Reverse love square shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	Around the Office

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Another Miraculous AU. I just really love the reverse love square. This assistant Adrien AU was created by sidsinning on Instagram. You can check out the art they created here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLLpgoklmh4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
> 
> Please check them out, and thank you for creating this AU!

Marinette was not having a good morning.

She slept through her alarm, something she hadn’t done since high school, and as a consequence didn’t have time to take a shower. After throwing on the first outfit she could find in her closet--a maroon dress and heels--she scurried downstairs to find she was out of coffee.

Thus, a very grumpy and tired Marinette walked out of her luxury apartment complex, heels clacking against the asphalt as she tried not to rub the mascara off her eyes. Her driver was waiting for her, and on the way to her new office she hurriedly tried to fix her makeup and hair.

As her car door was opened and she slid out of the expensive vehicle, she looked up at the grandiose building that housed her new office and felt a little better. It was comforting to think her hard work had paid off, and she now centered her operations here instead of her tiny, rundown former apartment.

The tall, automatic glass doors slid open and she walked inside briskly, paying no mind to the heads that turned her way. Magazines littered the racks by the lobby waiting area, and several of the beautiful women on the covers sported Marinette’s recent fashion line. It had been an overwhelming success, and Marinette was grateful to the Agreste fashion line for collaborating with her on it.

“Good morning, my lady.”

Speaking of the Agreste family.

Marinette turned as a familiar blonde smiled down at her, offering a cup of her favorite brand coffee as she yawned. “Here’s your morning coffee.”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver,” she replied gratefully, accepting the coffee. He fell into stride beside her and they walked to the elevators. His broad shoulders subtly shielded her from the awestruck eyes of passersby.

As they entered the elevator, her somewhat-new personal assistant pressed the button for the top floor. Marinette’s eyes roved over to him curiously. After the success of the Agreste-Marinette line, her business had obviously blown up beyond her wildest expectations. Beyond relocating to a new office space, she also needed more help. And so, she had put out an ad for a personal assistant.

He had arrived the first day of interviews, and she had nearly dropped her jaw when she saw his name on the list of applicants. Still unsure as to why Adrien Agreste, the son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste and one of the top models in the company, had applied to be her assistant, Marinette was nevertheless impressed at how well he filled the role.

He knew her favorite coffee order, what time she preferred to go on break, what irritated her with new clients, how many yards of fabric she needed for a specific piece...the list went on. Marinette had been impressed on his first week, and although she’d felt uneasy hiring Gabriel Agreste’s son, she had to admit he was the right choice.

Every time she questioned him on why he would want to work here instead of going back to his wildly successful modeling career, he would just shrug his shoulders and offer her one of his million-dollar smiles.

The elevator door opened, jarring her from her thoughts. Adrien stepped to the side, allowing her to exit first. She gave him a small smile and stepped out, sipping her coffee.  _ Perfect, as always. _

Several people gave her respectful nods as they walked past. Marinette noticed the hubbub around the office had been a bit higher ever since she hired Adrien. She couldn’t blame them--he was exceptionally famous and handsome.  _ And efficient. _

Alya, Marinette’s close friend and Public Relations manager, fell into step beside her. “Morning, girl. I’ve got updates on your official website. Servers crashed yesterday when we restocked your skirt collection, but my team…”

Marinette half-listened as she steered them to her personal office, nodding absently as Alya told her about the changes she’d suggested. As they reached the door, she replied, “Whatever you feel is best, go ahead and do it. You know I trust your judgement, Alya.”

The other woman gave a laugh. “I suppose so. I’ve been doing this all our lives, after all!”

Marinette laughed, then said goodbye as she went into her office. Sighing, she sat down at her desk and booted up her computer. “Do I have any morning meetings, Adrien?”

“You had one, but I bumped it to one o’clock to avoid Monday morning meetings. It’s with X Company to discuss the possibility of collaboration with their fashion-based video game.” As always, he was a lifesaver. Marinette hated Monday morning meetings.

She nodded, eyes scanning over her emails. “Was the issue with the misprint sweater batch handled?”

“Yes, refunds were issued and replacements are being sent out. Everyone was personally emailed an apology and explanation.” He went on to tell her what exactly was said, but she just wasn’t with it this morning. She took another gulp of coffee to try and focus.

Marinette didn’t realize how close he was until he spoke from behind her. “Are you feeling well today, Marinette?” 

She jumped slightly. “Oh--yes, sorry. I guess I’m just a little tired.”  _ Not to mention, yesterday’s patrol went so late. And three akumas over the weekend… _

Sometimes, balancing Ladybug with her new life was exhausting.

Her eyes fell on one of her more popular designs--a Ladybug-themed dress. Oddly, Gabriel Agreste had been against doing anything superhero-related in their collab, but she wanted to make more Ladybug and Chat Noir designs in the future.

After all, she _ was _ the red-and-black clad superheroine, Ladybug. Was it vain of her to make designs after herself? Probably. Did she care? No.

Besides...her eyes softened as she thought of Chat. She used to make Chat pieces just for herself, back in high school. Because he deserved them. He was so kind and helpful, not to mention funny, and was always there for her no matter what…

A tap on her shoulder stirred her from her thoughts. “Marinette, you’re daydreaming again.” Adrien’s tone was light and slightly playful. Her cheeks pinkened.

“Ah, right.” She tugged on the end of her half ponytail. “Sorry, sorry...I’ll start going over my pre-designs for the meeting next week now, thanks for your help.”

She expected Adrien to leave to attend to other duties, such as preparing for the afternoon meeting, but he stayed put. After a couple minutes, Marinette eyed him behind her.

“Um, Adrien? Did you need something?”

He seemed to snap out of some sort of reverie. “Ah, yes. Sorry. I suppose you’re rubbing off on me.” There’s that thousand-watt smile again. It was enough to make even Marinette blush.

Watching him leave her office out of the corner of her eye, Marinette sighed and turned her attention back to her computer.  _ He’s so nice, but sometimes I really don’t know what to make of him. _

~

Adrien quietly shut Marinette’s office door behind him, a smile tugging on his face as he looked up. He’d noticed right away that some of her hair wasn’t perfectly set in place like usual, and the tired look in her eyes. She hadn’t been walking as fast as usual, and there was no bubbly, cheerful chatter today either. But despite that, she’d looked so  _ cute. _

He admired her. He really did. She’d built this empire in such a short time, and was good at it. More than that, she was a good person. She treated her employees well and treated him like a friend.

Which was more than he could ever hope for.

“Hey, lover boy.” He looked up to see Alya standing there, giving him a once-over and smirking. “Want to tell me why you’re just standing outside Mari’s door? Are you a bodyguard, too?”

Straightening up, he laughed easily. “No, no, I was just on my way to get things ready for her one o’clock meeting. I also need to find out what she’s in the mood to eat for lunch.”

“It’s Monday. She always craves Chipotle.” Alya waved her hand dismissively, and Adrien filed that tidbit away to remember for later. “I don’t care about that. I’m more interested in the dopey look on your face. So tell me, Agreste...you have a thing for my best friend?”

As usual, nothing escaped Alya’s eagle eyes. Adrien supposed he hadn’t been very subtle, either. Thank goodness the lady in question was oblivious to a fault. 

“I admire her,” he answered truthfully. “I met her when she came to see my father about their collaboration. I was blown away at how well she handled him. Especially at our age. I suppose you could say I’m curious about her.”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “So you applied to be her personal assistant to be close to her?”

“That’s some of it, yes.” He didn’t elaborate further.

There was a long silence where they stared at one another. They had a silent battle of will, Adrien coolly meeting her scrutinous gaze. Finally, Alya blew out a frustrated breath, giving in. “Alright. You’re a nice guy, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Good luck ever penetrating that tough head of Mari’s, though. I swear, that girl could meet the love of her life face-to-face and not realize it.”

Adrien simply smiled.

After Alya hurried off, he headed to the meeting rooms to do his job. As he was ticking off the boxes for all the things he knew Marinette preferred, he caught himself yawning. Well, patrol  _ had _ gone late last night. He supposed that was to be expected.

His mind wandered to another dark-haired, but very different, lady in his life. Ladybug, his best friend and partner. Honestly, they’d been working together for so many years it came naturally now. They’d started back when they were what, fourteen? Fifteen? And now they were in their early twenties.  _ How time flies. _

Ladybug had been as apt as ever that weekend, but he could tell she’d been more preoccupied than usual lately. When he questioned her about it, she’d told him she recently started working in her civilian life more and was just getting used to the changes. Then she’d smiled at him.

When they were still in high school, Ladybug had told him about her feelings for him, Chat Noir. A crush of sorts. But it was difficult for him to see her that way, because she was one of the only real friends he had at the time. He’d been homeschooled through high school.

They had decided to put it on the shelf for now, since Adrien didn’t want to say never. Ladybug was smart, kind, thoughtful, and brave. But dating as superheroes…? Even Ladybug had admitted it would not be the best plan.

However, as time had gone on, it was clear to Adrien that the crush had never gone away. It was slightly more subtle, and she interacted with him normally, but he could tell. Being a model did help him pick up on social cues, with time and practice.

Just as he had started to sit down and really think about Ladybug’s feelings, six months ago, a new lady had walked into his life. Well, she’d walked right into his father’s office and slammed a stack of fashion designs on his desk.

Marinette.

She was as formidable as Ladybug when she wanted to be, but that wasn’t what drew him to her. As she’d been leaving, she had run into him in the main hall. She’d recognized him, of course, being a collaborator with his father’s company. They’d exchanged pleasantries, and then she’d mentioned something that caught him off guard.

“If you’d ever like to take a look at the designs, please feel free to come by. I’m sure you’d like to have some input on how they turn out.”

“What? Me? Really?”

“Well, of course. Your father mentioned you’d be modeling a lot of them. It’s only fair to you, right?” 

And then she’d smiled at him, and something had sparked a curiosity in him about her. No one had ever asked for his input in the process before. He was just expected to show up and look pretty and do as he was told.

So he’d gone to her office the next week. Not that he really had much input on the designs--they were all incredible--but interacting with her was so easy. She had been friendly and asked him about himself without mentioning the modeling part, and afterwards they’d eaten lunch together.

He had learned so much about her. And for the first time, he really felt like someone was paying more attention to him rather than his last name or modeling career.

Besides Ladybug, of course, but she couldn’t get to really know  _ him. _ Just himself as Chat.

And just like that, he knew he was a goner.

Alya had been right, as usual. He’d jumped at the opportunity to work closely with her every day. He just couldn’t resist. They’d hung out a few times before--both for work and casually--but each time he was eager to see her again. 

Just like that, the possibility of accepting Ladybug’s feelings was no more. He felt bad about it, he really did, but dating Ladybug would just make everything so complicated. And Marinette was exactly what he needed--a breath of fresh air; a sweet, lovely break in the midst of Adrien’s complicated life.

Not that he was going to tell her anytime soon, of course. He was still figuring that part out. He still didn’t have a lot of experience with women.

A loud cry shook him out of his reminiscing, and he looked up, startled. Several employees were running past the meeting room. He hurried out. “What’s going on?”

An intern looked back at him, eyes scared. “Akuma! It’s coming this way! Some sort of giant insect…!”

He nodded and ran out, ducking into a nearby closet when the coast was clear. Plagg flew out of his button-down shirt’s pocket. “Seems like Hawkmoth wasn’t satisfied with tormenting us this weekend.”

“But I’m so tired,” Plagg complained. Adrien didn’t have time to comfort him, however.

“Plagg, claws out!”

~

Marinette was finally close to finishing her emails when the ground shook. Standing, she ran to her window to see some kind of giant cockroach flying over the city. She grimaced.

“Ugh, of course it has to be a cockroach akuma. I hate Mondays.”

She was reaching to open her purse to let out Tikki when another rumble sounded, and her entire office shook. She wobbled on her heels, falling over. “Ouch!”

The window shook, and then the giant bug let out a screech. The glass shattered, raining shards of glass around her office.

Marinette put her arms up to protect her face from the glass, but before she could feel any pain, she felt someone wrap their arms around her and suddenly she was moving.

She looked up in surprise. “C-Chat Noir?”

The feline glanced down at her, flashing a smile, and slowly deposited her next to her office door. His eyes were so gentle, it took Marinette aback. She’d never really seen him look like that before. 

“Are you okay?” He was checking her for cuts from the glass.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. She felt silly for getting starstruck, and while in her civilian form, no less! “How did you--? Where…?”

“Ah, I was passing by, chasing the akuma.” His hands were still resting on her. “You sure you’re alright? You look a little dazed.”

“No, no, I’m fine!” Marinette insisted, her face hot. She would die if Chat found out it was because of him. “You should get going--I mean, Ladybug will need you, right?”

“I suppose you’re right about that, Princess.” Her stomach swooped at the nickname. He stood. “Be careful, okay? Get somewhere safe. Ladybug and I will handle it.”

She smiled up at him.  _ He’s so thoughtful. _ “I will. Thank you, Chat Noir.”

He saluted her, winking, and extended his staff. He swung off after the akuma.

Marinette covered her face with her hands. She made an embarrassing noise. “He’s so cool! I can’t believe I got to be rescued by him…!”

“Marinette.” She looked up at Tikki, who had gotten free of the purse. “I know you’re excited, but we need to go! Chat needs us!”

“You’re right, Tikki, sorry.” Marinette stood, mindful of the glass. Her face still felt hot, and she couldn’t get the image of Chat’s gentle eyes out of her head.

“Tikki, spots on!”

~

Chat groaned as he was shoved to the ground. “Now, m’lady!”

Ladybug leapt over him, tossing her yo-yo, and then pulling the akuma down. The man riding the giant bug stumbled off, and Ladybug crushed his watch under her foot. The akuma fluttered out.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

Before he’d even gotten to his feet, the akuma was gone and a confused man was sitting where the giant bug used to be. Apparently he was an exterminator, and something went wrong on a job...anyway, the pair helped him make his way back home.

“Thanks for your help. Awesome as always, Chaton.” Ladybug beamed at him, and Chat nodded. He was slightly distracted, as he wanted to get back to the office to make sure Marinette was alright. She’d nearly gotten hurt pretty badly…

“Chat?”

He blinked. “Sorry, m’lady. Lost in thought.” He gave her a cheeky grin as his ring beeped. “I’ll see you at the next crisis, right?”

She seemed a bit disappointed, but smiled. “Of course, partner. Pound it!”

The two fistbumped, and with a salute Chat swung away.

As soon as he’d dropped on the roof of Marinette’s office building, his ring flashed and Plagg tumbled out. He caught the kwami, handing him some cheese as he rushed downstairs. 

“Whoa, what’s your damage, kid? Worried about the boss lady?”

“She almost got hurt, Plagg. I just want to make sure she’s okay.” He burst into Marinette’s office, blurting, “Sorry, Marinette, but I--”

He blinked. The office was repaired, thanks to Ladybug’s magic, and everything looked immaculate.

But there was no Marinette to be found.

Slowly, he closed her office door, disappointed. He supposed she was probably still on her way back from wherever she found shelter. The battle did just end, after all…

“Adrien?”

He jerked around, startled at the sound of her voice. Marinette stood there, shouldering her purse as she tilted her head at him. “I’m glad to see you’re alright. You managed to find somewhere safe during the attack?”

He’s so relieved to see her looking unharmed he nearly missed her question. “Oh, no. I mean, yes. I did. I’m fine.” His shoulders relaxed. “I’m really glad you’re unharmed, Marinette.”

She gave him one of the smiles he loved so much. “Same here, Adrien. Akuma attacks are never fun. Want to go get lunch together before the meeting? This kind of shook up my morning work plans.”

“Yes!” He said eagerly, his face brightening as they walked past her office. “Are you in the mood for some Chipotle, my lady?”

“Always the charmer,” she teased him as they headed back to the elevator. “As a matter of fact, I was about to suggest the same thing. I’d love some right now.”

As the elevator closed and their light banter continued, Adrien was just happy to be spending this time with her. His smile was so soft as he looked back at her as she laughed about something.

Applying for this personal assistant job was the best thing he ever did.


End file.
